Ethiopian journalist Abay Zewdu remains detained after court grants bail
Nairobi, September 20, 2022 — Authorities in Ethiopia should immediately and unconditionally release Abay Zewdu, chief editor of privately owned satellite and YouTube-based broadcaster Amara Media Center (AMC), and cease detaining journalists without charge, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. At about 1:30 p.m. on September 10, security officers in civilian clothes and…
Digital Safety: Protecting against online smear campaigns
Updated March 20, 2023 Media outlets and journalists are increasingly targeted by sophisticated smear campaigns designed to harm their credibility. Groups coordinate to spread false online content about them or their work, often targeting their social media accounts. Some such groups have undisclosed government backing. Posts often seek to undermine news reports and convince readers…
Turkey’s legal year begins with new terrorism charges, convictions for journalists
In the first week of the legal year when courts open, Turkish courts convicted two journalists on terrorism charges, brought new terrorism charges against two others, and rejected an appeal for the release of 15 journalists and one media worker, who have been in pretrial detention for nearly three months. On Wednesday, September 7, 2022,…
‘An open-air prison’: Kashmiri journalists on how travel bans undermine press freedom
When Indian immigration officials stopped freelance Kashmiri journalist Aakash Hassan at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi international airport on July 26, they held him for several hours and questioned him about his family, his professional background and his reason for traveling – and refused to allow him to board his Sri Lanka flight because, they said, he was listed…
Gunmen threaten Mexican reporter Rodrigo Bustillos in Tehuacán
Mexico City, September 16, 2022—Mexican authorities must immediately and properly investigate threats against journalist Rodrigo Bustillos and guarantee his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Bustillos, a veteran reporter based in Tehuacán in the central Mexican state of Puebla, currently works for privately owned news sites Domingo7 Tehuacán and Grupo Entiempo Comunicaciones, which…
Somaliland’s ministry of information imposes indefinite ban on CBA TV
Nairobi, September 16, 2022—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday called on authorities in the breakaway region of Somaliland to allow the privately owned CBA TV broadcaster to resume operations and to desist from using bans to silence the press. In a September 6 letter, the minister of information Suleyman Yusuf Ali, also known as…
Armed men in military uniforms beat, threaten lives of Congolese journalists Parfait Katoto and Picard Luhavo
Kinshasa, September 16, 2022—Congolese authorities should conduct swift and transparent investigations into the attacks on journalists Parfait Katoto and Picard Luhavo in their homes, hold those responsible to account, and ensure the safety of journalists working across the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. In separate incidents on September 6 and 7, armed…
Myanmar sentences former BBC Media Action reporter to 3 years in prison
Bangkok, September 16, 2022 – Myanmar authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Htet Htet Khine and stop jailing members of the press for their journalistic activities, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Thursday, September 15, an Insein Prison court in Yangon sentenced Htet Htet Khine to three years in prison with hard…
Vietnam sentences blogger Le Anh Hung to 5 years in prison
Bangkok, September 16, 2022 – Vietnamese authorities should immediately and unconditionally release imprisoned blogger Le Anh Hung and stop harassing journalists on spurious anti-state charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On August 30, the Hanoi People’s Court convicted and sentenced Hung to five years in prison under Article 331 of the penal code, an anti-state…
MEDIA ADVISORY: People’s Tribunal on the Murder of Journalists to Pronounce Judgment in Trio of Cases in the Hague
New York – On September 19, 2022, the People’s Tribunal on the Murder of Journalists will convene an independent panel of international judges to pronounce a verdict in a trio of cases highlighting impunity for murdered journalists. This judgment will be a culmination of a process that began in November 2021, and a response to…